Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We finished going over the video and made it back to the house just as Killian and Anton were coming up the drive in Killian’s ebony colored SUV. We waited at the door as they pulled up just outside of the carriage house and got out.
I could have sworn that I heard Nora heave a sigh that gave away her attraction to his physique and heavy brogue as Anton smiled broadly and said, “Hello ladies. This is perfect timing.”
“How did you like driving?” I asked with a sly chuckle that was intended for both his experience and Nora’s obsession.
“It took a while,” Killian snorted, “but he eventually calmed down.”
Anton gave an embarrassed scowl. “Go away with you. I was nay that bad.”
Killian grinned, but said no more as he opened the door and held it for us to enter. I could feel an electrifying jolt go through my b
“I do not understand what it is that you are trying to tell me,” Cecil pouted after Nora did her best to relay to him our findings. “Are you saying that you believe that there is a timed lock on our attic door and that time travelers are coming and going?”Nora nodded. “I know that it sounds a bit farfetched, but you did hire us for our paranormal investigating skills. So, you must believe just a bit that it could be possible.”I’d sat back and allowed my friend to converse about our findings with our client while I observed his body language as he listened. I’d been trained to read body language when I was studying to be an investigator. There was a lot to learn about a person from it. His behavior indicated to me that, although he was trying to appear interested and reasonable, he didn’t like a word of what Nora was telling him. I also got the impression that he knew
A rush of adrenaline surged through me at the sound of the gruff, eerie snarls that came from somewhere behind us. I whirled to see what was happening. Faint moans mixed with the snarls. From what I could tell, they were coming from the enormous, grotesque painting in the middle of the room. The moans sounded far more distant than the snarling.Nora stopped in her tracks, but she didn’t look at the painting along with me. She was too paralyzed with fear.I don’t know why I wasn’t. I was afraid, but not paralyzed. By some miracle, I managed to push through my fear and kept focused and mobile. I quickly made my way to the front of the painting to see if I could understand what was taking place.I had to rub my eyes a few times to be sure that I was seeing correctly as I watched the two dimensional painting become three dimensional.“This didn’t show up on the screen last nig
My worries for Nora slowly subsided as I focused on my own wellbeing. I had no idea where I was and what I was walking into. My captor moved through the darkness with a steady ease. Perhaps he was able to see after all? My fear of being left alone in such acute darkness was intense so, I made sure to closely follow him.When a plain looking red door appeared in front of us, he slowly waved his hand from left to right in a way that reminded me of a magician performing a magic trick. The door groaned loud and long as it opened with reluctance. I had to squint my eyes in order to tolerate the bright light that assaulted them while the door created an opening that was wide enough for us to walk through.My head pounded from the intensity of the light. I was forced to give in and completely close my eyes in order to find some relief. Even with them closed, I could see the brightness that was in stark contrast to the blac
The first thing that came to me when I opened my eyes was the fact that I was snuggled beneath a down comforter while lying in a soft bed and warm from head to toe.“Where am I?” I heard a slightly familiar voice say.After a moment of silence and a few seconds of concentration, I realized that the voice was mine. It was strained and hoarse from almost freezing to death. Or, perhaps it was the result of being forced to breathe the putrid air of the hell dimension that I was whisked off to by Marduke.“You’re home, my sweet Esmerelda,” Killian said with a soft and gentle voice. “We found you wandering Tillman’s property.”“Where is Nora?” Roger asked from across the room. “We went looking, but she’s nowhere to be found. What happened to her?”“What happened to both of you?” Killian asked. “We were worried sick. Di
Doctor Jeffrey Goodman was a comely man in his late thirties. His smile consisted of slender lips beneath a platinum mustache that matched his well-groomed platinum hair and slightly imperfect, pearly white teeth. It was so warm and friendly that I found it infectious.Grey, twinkling eyes that sat in just the right position on either side of a nose that could only be described as the perfect size and shape for his strong jaw and ruddy, high cheekbones assessed me from a few feet away. “So, Miss Sleuth, I understand that you’ve had quite an adventure.”“Esmerelda,” I said, softly. “Call me Esmerelda.”He nodded. “Alright. Esmerelda, can you tell me a bit about what happened?”I hesitated going into detail with someone in the medical profession. It was such a crazy story. What if he thought me just that? What if he thought me crazy? Sure, he was a me
I was sound asleep when Killian eased his body next to me on my bed. I was on the alert the moment I felt his weight shift the mattress.Adrenaline flooded my system as I bellowed, “Get out, Jason! How did you get free?”“It’s me,” he whispered as he gently laid his hand on my shoulder. “It’s Killian.”I instantly relaxed and rolled to face him. There was just enough moonlight coming through the window to show me the outline of his beautiful face.“What are you doing?” I whispered back.“I need to hold you,” he admitted.I snuggled into him. He smelled fresh and clean.“You showered,” I hummed into his chest.“Only for you, baby,” he teased.“You should have waited for me,” I teased back.“Oh, if that was the case, my love, I would gladly get back in,” he said
I felt even worse the following day. So bad, in fact, that Jeffrey was called back to check on me.“From what I can see,” he said to Killian as they stood on the opposite side of the room and in a voice that I doubted he’d expected me to hear, “you syphoned every drop of magic from her shine. She’s completely depleted.”“How can that be?” Killian asked with concern. “I projected it toward her. She should have gotten a goodly supply from me.”Jeffrey looked at me with creased brow. “Something’s not right.”“Do you think they did something to her when she was beyond the portal?” Killian asked.“That’s a pretty nasty place,” Jeffrey replied. “I’ve only met one other person who went there and survived.”I sucked in air at his comment, but stayed silent. I wasn’t ready for th
It took two days for my shine to replenish and my strength to come back. Jeffrey said that it was remarkably fast. He’d expected me to be in bed for a few weeks, not a few days. He wasn’t sure if it was my magical genetics or the remedy that he’d finally had the opportunity to use that did the trick. Perhaps it was both.Killian was called on a case, but he made sure that someone was with me in the house at all times. More often than not, it was a woman named Gail Simone.A trusted member of the society, Gail had a way about her that made her conscientious of my wellbeing and good company during times when I really needed it. She was about a decade older than me, but managed to hold off the ravages of time so that she looked to be around my age. Her shiny raven hair framed her pale, oval face as it hung sleekly over her slender shoulders. Her nose was long, narrow, and in perfect proportion to her pixie-